by Simon Sebag Montefiore
|
| List Price: | $19.95 |
| Amazon Price: | $13.57 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. |
| You Save: | $6.38 (32%) |
| Average Rating: |  |
| Lowest New Price: | $10.13 |
| Availablitiy: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
 |
|
Product Description
This widely acclaimed biography provides a vivid and riveting account of Stalin and his courtiers—killers, fanatics, women, and children—during the terrifying decades of his supreme power. In a seamless meshing of exhaustive research and narrative ?lan, Simon Sebag Montefiore gives us the everyday details of a monstrous life.
We see Stalin playing his deadly game of power and paranoia at debauched dinners at Black Sea villas and in the apartments of the Kremlin. We witness first-hand how the dictator and his magnates carried out the Great Terror and the war against the Nazis, and how their families lived in this secret world of fear, betrayal, murder, and sexual degeneracy. Montefiore gives an unprecedented understanding of Stalin’s dictatorship, and a Stalin as human and complicated as he is brutal.
Customers who bought this item also bought
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Keep your Friends close but keep your Enemies closer!, 2008-10-04
I first learned of this book by watching Book notes with Brian Lamb on C-Span. Mr. Montefiore is a British journalist with an historian's bent.
This extraordinary study of 785 pages details the personal life of Joseph Stalin. I must admit I was indeed taken back as to the rather cavalier attitude of Stalin in forcing his hand on all things of his immediate friends and associates in government. He indeed tried to control every aspect of their lives. As Michiko Kakutani described in her review in the New York Times, his cure-all was murder. Oh yes, Joseph Stalin ranks higher than Adolph Hitler in his elimination of the human race.
Joseph Stalin was the classic result of the Bolshevik culture. He trusted no one. Everyone was his enemy. Hitler was just as much of an adversary to Stalin as Beria who was a Bolshevik associate.
As stated by Montefiore, Joseph Stalin could act compassionate and display his ultimate Uncle Joe impersonation. However, in the end he was indeed a brutal and unforgiving person. He was a classic paranoid.
My old friend from the New York Times Michiko Kakutani rather likes this book. She indeed saw it as a limited study of Stalin with his immediate friends and subordinates during his time as leader of the Soviet Union. However back in her mind this study according to her should have included Stalin's entire oeuvre of philosophy of Communism.
Again she is indeed wrong, this is a study of the private Joseph Stalin. Doing it as Ms. Kakutani wants it done would take 3 volumes of 785 pages each.
Good work, long read but I liked it. 5 Stars, no problem!!!
0 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
 Jewish inolveement .... , 2008-09-23
The main objective of Montefiore's books about Stalin is to whitewash Jewish involvement in the Bolshevick Revolution. They paint a picture which eliminates Jewish involvement in what was absolutely a Jewish controlled affair - both from abroad through Kuhn and Loeb et. al. and from within.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Not for novices, 2008-07-15
Yowzahs! If you want a DETAILED biography of Stalin's political life then pick this up. I fully recommend it to grad and doctoral students or anyone else writing a book.
If you are a little curious and your last Russian history class was in high school, then you might want to look elsewhere.
I was overwhelmed. When I got out of bed, wanting to draw my own character profiles and story arcs, I decided that this would NOT be a good bed time read.
Thorough, scholarly and well-written this book made me feel stupid.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
The History of a Monster, 2008-07-06
In the pantheon of the 20th century's most heinous individuals, Joseph Stalin would be prominently placed along with Hitler, Mao and Pol Pot. Stalin was a truly repulsive individual who brought death and misery to millions. To think that he should deserve some accolades for industrialising the Soviet Union is historical blindness of the greatest degree. He was simply a repugnant monster.
Simon Sebag Montefiore has told the tale of Stalin as a riveting piece of history. You may ask if there is anything new about Stalin to be told. Well, the short answer is that much has been learned in recent years. Montefiore was given unparalleled access to Russian records and has a keen eye for detail. Indeed, it is remarkable that such records even exist. Yet it seems that the Soviets were, if nothing else, diligent keeps of files. Montefiore has unearthed a veritable treasure trove.
Stalin was a man of immense paranoia. In his life, he trusted no one except, ironically, Adolph Hitler. Right up to the last moment, he was convinced that Hitler would keep his word and leave the Soviet Union in peace. When Hitler's word was broken, Stalin nearly collapsed. Yet, everyone else was a danger, real or perceived. The bloodletting that this unleashed in the 1930s has few parallels in history. But for all this carnage, Stalin was able to live a life cut short only by natural death. He created fear in his people and his immediate colleagues. He used this fear as a weapon. He was utterly remorseless.
Simon Sebag Montefiori's book is a master piece. It is a superlative piece of historical writing and biography. Not with standing the repugnance of the subject, this book is great reading. I thoroughly recommend it to all interested in understanding one of the great figures of the twentieth century.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Scary insight into how totalitarian regimes operate, 2008-06-18
This is a great book if you want to understand the horrors and paranoia among the elites in totalitarian regimes. The book discusses how Stalin manipulated his court and why his associates went along with his schemes. There are some fascinating tidbits, but one of the most unnerving is the fact that Stalin was actually a very well-read and intelligent man who read Western history and Russian literature (books he banned incidentally), but still believed in the Communist system and perpetuated mass murder. He also skillfully involved his associates in crimes, so none of them could take the moral high ground and they all had some stains on their character which could be used against them when Stalin decided to get rid of them.
I thought there was enough of an overview on Stalin for reasonably educated people to delve right into this book, but you may want to review a brief online biography (or even Wikipedia) before tackling this book.
Price is accurate as of the date/time indicated. Prices and product availability are subject to change. Any price displayed on the Amazon website at the time of purchase will govern the sale of this product.
|
Store Categories
|